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Saturday, March 19, 2011

I save seeds each year from my cutting garden for the next year. These are some of my favorites...

Peppermint Zinnias

Assorted Zinnias

I've started some flower seeds today. I'm thinking I should have done this sooner but.....well......wait a minute.......I'm thinking........

I made newspaper pots to sow them in and get them started. The pots are super easy to make, free, and earth friendly. And once your seedlings are old enough to move out on their own you just pop them into the ground -- paper pot and all.

You could get fancy (and expensive) with this project. Purchased newspaper pot makers cost $25 or more. Sure, they're cute...

Fancy Newspaper Pot Maker

But they don't really make sense when I can whip out a can of Campbell's Soup that'll do the job for free and later sacrifice itself for dinner.

Recycled Newspaper Pot How To

Tear a single sheet of newspaper in half and fold in thirds.

Wrap the paper around the can about 1/4" from the top edge. Not too tight -- you're going to have to slip it off.

Funny headline! I said the pots were free -- not the soup!

Secure with tape.

Fold the bottom edge in like this...

then this...

Keep folding...

...and folding.

Secure with tape and slip it off the can.

I fill the pots with dirt (also free) from my compost bin and keep the seedlings moist, not soggy, until they're ready to plant, pot and all.

Here's a couple of cute options...

Happy Gardening!!!

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90 comments:

I love love love this idea!!! If you don't mind, I plan to share it (along with your blog) with my readers this week. We plan to purchase another home this year and this idea will be so handy for my raised veggie beds!

Great idea. Love zinnias. So they're friendly like. Gonna have to find me some peppermint ones though. I've never seen those kind. Take care and thanks for the paper pot idea. Too late here. I'll just sow into the ground.Hugs~ Amanda

I love your zinnia's...... peppermint stripe is so cute !!! Thanks for the great idea ...I saw another one that uses the cardboard toilet paper rolls, you just cut about an inch or so up one side about 5 times around one end and fold the strips in to make the bottom. Just another idea !!! I will try both yours and the toilet rolls.

Love your newpaper pot, it's MUCH easier than the one I've started making...am making a switch. I'm female...so it's okay, right? The Pepperming Zinnias are beautiful, do you know where others might be able to purchase them? Thanks again for the information.

Don't you love those? I also start seeds in hollowed out egg shells when I am ambitious enough to crack my eggs that way...and I use the fiberboard egg cartons too for small seedlings. Love these little pots!!! xxoo Diana

I'm so freakin' loving this idea. And your timing is absolutely perfect. I just started some seeds in left over tiny plastic sample containers we got from my husband's older brother, and I and our 3 1/2 year old daughter planted the seeds just 3 days ago (in New Brunswick, Canada summer comes MUCH later) and I was wondering what on earth I could put them in when they get a bit bigger, but not big enough to plant outdoors. This will be absolutely PERFECT. And it's free. Gotta love that! I'm already a follower and would love to have you follow back! I'm going to include this in a post of mine in my blog. Thanks again!

Lindy thanks so much for stopping by and leaving me such a sweet comment and becoming a follower I really appreciate it! I am already a follower of your blog and beautiful home, and always look forward to seeing what your up to next!! Martina

@BellaBella - I let the flower dry on the plant but not so long as it starts to fall apart. I store the flowers, whole, in an envelope so they can breath. The seeds are in the center and when you break them apart there will be dozens (or hundreds)of tiny seeds. If you're not sure how deep to plant a certain type of seed you can always google it. Good luck!

Now I am thinking this would be a great Easter gift for my family members coming for Easter dinner. Hopefully if I start right now they will be ready to give Easter day. I adore this idea and thank you for sharing. A new follower here. xoP.S. And I saved my candy striped zinnia seeds from last year. Love them.

What a great idea! I've already got little starters, but most of them are ready for their individual pots and I've been thinking about how I would go about it this year. Usually I by the eco friendly pots you can burry, but your idea would save me some money! So glad I have thrown my newspapers out yet! Thanks for sharing!

Hi Lindy, Thanks for sharing this great idea at my party. A friend mentioned to me today that she saw this post and loved the idea. She is making these for her sisters and putting them in a Easter basket. Hugs,Sherry

What a clever tutorial! We are really jazzed at all the fine quality products you listed, including that VOC-free paint, Mythic. Don't have room for another lamp! But we liked the tutorial on how to decorate one of our existing ones.So Thank You!Rose & Studio Friends

Great tute and I LOVE ZINNIAS! They are so cheerful, easy to grow, and bloom for so long! I live in Ga, so it's super hot here. Zinnias grow really well. I started seeds a few weeks back, in seed starters as usual. Will do this next year though.

I started candy cane zinnias, and tequila lime. The lime ones aren't coming up as well. Have you experienced this? What varieties work best for you?